(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upright vacuum cleaner and, more particularly, to an upright vacuum cleaner in which a rotary brush, a belt, and the like can be easily exchanged.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In an upright vacuum cleaner having a conventional suction port body structure, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication Sho 59 No. 16773, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Sho 61 No. 130142, and the like, when exchanging a rotary brush or belt, the cleaner itself must be turned upside down, and a bottom plate covering the rotary brush must be removed. In the upright vacuum cleaner of each official gazette enumerated above, the rotary brush is held in a suction port body, and a bottom plate covers the rotary brush.
More specifically, referring to FIG. 1, wheels 2 are provided at the bottom portion of a handle body 1, and a suction fan motor 3 is incorporated in the lower portion of the handle body 1. The handle body 1 is mounted to a suction port body 5 to be tiltable about a shaft 4 of the fan motor 3 which serves as the tilting fulcrum. A handle 6 is fixed to the handle body 1, and a dust collecting case 7 is detachably mounted to the front surface of the handle body 1. A panel 8 formed on the upper portion of the front surface of the handle body 1 incorporates a power control board for adjusting an input to the fan motor 3.
Dust drawn by suction through an opening portion 13 formed in the lower portion of the front surface of a bottom plate 12 is collected, through a hose 9, in a dust collecting bag mounted in the dust collecting case 7, and air from which dust is removed is exhausted through an exhaust port 10. A belt 11 for transmitting the driving force of the fan motor 3 to a rotary brush 14 is mounted to the shaft 4 of the fan motor 3. The rotary brush 14 is exposed through the opening portion 13 of the bottom plate 12 detachably mounted to the suction port body 5, so that it can clean the floor surface. A bumper 15 is mounted on the front and two side surfaces of the suction port body 5.
With the above arrangement, however, the rotary brush or belt cannot be exchanged unless the product is turned upside down and the bottom plate is removed from the suction port body. The vacum cleaner must be turned upside down in the same manner as described above also when the handle body is to be mounted to the suction port body to be tiltable about the shaft projecting from the fan motor as the tilting fulcrum. This poses problems in assembling operability and services. When the rotary brush or belt is to be exchanged, a power switch 16 must be turned off to stop the rotary brush or belt, which also poses a problem in exchange operability.